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CAM

As the public’s interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to skyrocket, hospitals are beginning to tap into that demand and create new revenue streams at the same time. As a result, the development of hospital-based massage therapy practices are beginning to grow. A new U.S. survey conducted by Health Forum, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association, shows that the number of hospitals offering massage therapy has increased by more than one-third during the past two years.1

Employers continue to show acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine as companions to, or in lieu of, traditional, allopathic care. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust, employers are providing insurance coverage for acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage in greater numbers. In fact, coverage for acupuncture jumped from 33 percent to 47 percent between 2002 and 2004, and the percentage for chiropractic jumped from 79 percent to 87 percent during that same time.

Complementary and alternative medicine continues to gain acceptance in many of the nation’s most prestigious medical institutions. The newest college to incorporate nonconventional medical training is the University of Pennsylvania, which has moved to include acupuncture, herbal remedies, and massage therapy into its curriculum. The university will pair with Maryland’s Tai Sophia Institute to instruct medical students. Of the 125 medical schools in the United States, 95 now require at least some coursework in CAM.

More than 60 percent of Americans over age 50 are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), according to a recent study conducted at Ohio State University. This appears to be a larger percentage than within the general population.

More and more of you are turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). According to Mayo Clinic Health Letter, Americans often choose CAM for a variety of reasons, including believing in its effectiveness in combination with conventional medicine, because it seems interesting to try, because it was suggested by their traditional medical professional, and because of its cost effectiveness in comparison with conventional medicine.

One-third of 191 parents studied report using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at least once a year for their children, say authors of a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care. Additionally, almost half have used CAM at some point. Therapies included massage, vitamins, herbs, meditation, chiropractic, homeopathy, prayer and spiritual healing, biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis and nutritional supplements.

If a butterfly flaps its wings in Beijing, does it cause a dust storm in Africa? You’ve probably heard some variation of this question. Actually, Edward Lorenz, who theorized this interconnectedness of our universe, used as the title of his 1979 presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, “Predictability: Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”1 So what does this have to do with research, massage therapy and bodywork? Everything.

If you’ve strained one of your fibularis tendons, the pain in your ankle will let you know something is wrong, but you’ll probably have a hard time identifying the fibularis as a source of the trouble.

Technology has certainly put us in touch with important information on preventive measures for spreading the COVID-19 virus, such as washing our hands and avoiding contact with those who are sick. However, much of the information is ignoring an essential part to staying healthy—boosting our immune system!

Almost every massage therapist has encountered a client with chronically tense muscles that are so stiff it takes great effort to massage them. Others quietly suffer from muscle aches that affect both their work and leisure time, making them miserable. Some people don’t even know they are tense, while others are aware but have no idea why. There are dozens of less-common medical conditions that can cause stiff muscles, such as Lyme’s disease or lupus, but the following 5 reasons are among the most common.

Massage therapy has powerful healing properties. There is simply nothing that compares to the warmth and precision of real human touch. But modern life has become so tense and stressful that an increasing number of clients are suffering from chronic tension: painful muscle spasms and conditions like fibromyalgia, where they feel a diffuse discomfort almost every day.

Adults are now sitting around more than at any other time in history. And there can be rather serious consequences. Some authors have gone so far as to describe chronic, prolonged sitting as “the new smoking,” a deadly habit.